Champagne Bath
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Champagne Bath, today officially the Champagne Fitness Center, is a historic bath in Ottawa, Canada. It is located on King Edward Avenue in Lower Town. Originally the structure was built for the greater hygiene of the largely working class residents of the neighbourhood, many of which had no baths in their homes. The structure was also originally home to a library. Work began on the building in 1921 and it was completed in 1924. The building, a blend of the Spanish Colonial Revival and Prairie Styles, was designed by Werner Ernst Noffke. It was named after Ottawa mayor Napoléon Champagne. It was Ottawa's first municipal swimming pool and was one of the first indoor pools in Canada. The pool was also unusual in that it was salt water, which meant it did not need to be chlorinated. It was soon followed by the Plant Bath which was built on the western side of town.
It was segregated until 1967 with separate ground level entrances for each sex. While popular for many years usage declined as the facility aged. In the 1980s, after the completion of the newer Le Patro facility, the city proposed closing the Bath. After public protest it was decided to renovate the Bath at the cost of some two million dollars. The transformed facility opened in 1990. With some 45,000 patrons a year the facility is still underutilized.
